Wisconsin Aviation Community Mobilizes for Tornado Relief Efforts

EAA donates food, water, and supplies left over from AirVenture.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 01:35 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

EAA ships donations to storm-ravaged communities in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. [Credit: Experimental Aircraft Association]

Key Takeaways:

A powerful EF-3 tornado caused extensive devastation in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, particularly in Menasha, though miraculously, no serious injuries or fatalities were reported.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) swiftly pivoted from their AirVenture convention, donating 18,000 pounds of leftover water and materials to aid the tornado recovery efforts in Menasha.
Social media platforms, previously used for convention discussions, are now coordinating recovery efforts, with ongoing assessments and collections of essential donations for affected residents.

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A week ago pilots and aviation enthusiasts in Wisconsin were using social media to share information about EAA AirVenture 2026 in Oshkosh. Now those same channels are being utilized to organize tornado recovery efforts for the residents of Winnebago County, especially in Menasha, located about 23 miles to the north of Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH).

According to Dick Knapinski, director of communications for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the organization on Wednesday packed up supplies left over from the annual aviation convention and trucked them to Menasha, the hardest-hit community about 15 miles north of Oshkosh.